First Call: Darius Slay, Mike Hilton may be among available CBs; ex-Steelers DB coach lands NFC job

Tuesday’s “First Call” has details about a future free-agent cornerback from Philadelphia that may be of interest to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A former Steelers cornerback is in the news as well. An ex-Steelers assistant coach lands a job in the NFC South.

We look at the Penguins’ next opponent, and we have an update on Alex Ovechkin’s goal-scoring chase.

What to say about Slay

The Steelers could use help at cornerback. Now, it appears one player that the team had a previous interest in acquiring is on the open market.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Philadelphia Eagles are releasing six-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay. He is expected to be a post-June 1 release designation, thus saving the Super Bowl champions $4.3 million in salary cap space.

Eagles are releasing six-time Pro-Bowl CB Darius Slay, per sources.

If he is designated a post-June 1 release, the Eagles will save $4.3 million against the cap. pic.twitter.com/tUq4ScIK79

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2025

Slay is an interesting addition to the free-agent pool at a position of need for the Steelers. After all, they did show an interest in Slay.

In advance of last December’s Steelers-Eagles game, Slay revealed on his podcast that he had some discussions about potentially joining the Steelers prior to the 2023 season.

“I almost was going to them,” Slay said. “They hit me up. (T.J. Watt) texted me. Cam Heyward texted me talking about, ‘Come in’ there. Before I ever got to make the decision, I think they signed (Patrick Peterson) so they kind of chilled out for a minute. But I was almost a Pittsburgh Steeler.”

Instead, Slay remained in Philadelphia. That offseason, the Eagles were close to releasing him, and they allowed him to seek a trade. But a deal was worked out to restructure his contract. That happened the same day Peterson signed in Pittsburgh.

Bengal on the prowl

It looks like former Steeler Mike Hilton is heading to free agency.

Most recently a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, the defensive back, sent out this social media post saying, “New opportunities always present themselves.”

New opportunities always present themselves ????????

— Mike Hilton (@MikeHilton_28) March 3, 2025

Undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2016, Hilton latched on with the Steelers and was a staple of the defense through 2020. That’s when he went to the Bengals for a four-year, $24 million agreement.

The Steelers have struggled to find a steady replacement for Hilton at the slot corner position since he left. Although, Beanie Bishop did show some flashes early in the season.

The Bengals are also reportedly cutting guard Alex Cappa. That’ll save $8 million in cap space. The 30-year-old started all but one game for Cincinnati last season.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins is also going to be released, saving $9.6 million.

New home in New Orleans

Former Steelers defensive backs coach Grady Brown has a new job. He’s joining the coaching staff of the New Orleans Saints. That news comes from Matt Zenitz of 247 Sports.

Gerald Alexander replaced Brown as the DBs’ coach earlier this offseason in Pittsburgh. Brown had been with the Steelers since 2021. Brown interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator position this offseason. It was eventually given to Jeff Ublrich.

Brown has yet to be given an official title. However, we know that Terry Joseph has been hired to be the secondary/defensive pass game coordinator on Kellen Moore’s staff. So perhaps Brown will be an assistant to him in some capacity.

The Saints were 27th against the pass last year at 238.5 yards per game.

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No dice

The Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals won a hockey game 5-4 over the Ottawa Senators. However, star winger Alex Ovechkin didn’t score.

That means Ovi’s goal chase of NHL record holder Wayne Gretzky stays idle at 884. That’s 10 goals shy of tying Gretzky’s mark.

Since Jan. 28, Ovechkin has had just one set of back-to-back games without goals. They occurred in Utah on Feb. 9, going into the 4 Nations Face-off, and in Pittsburgh on Feb. 22, coming out of it. The Caps next play in New York against the Rangers on Wednesday.

Washington got the win in a shootout. Dylan Strome netted the game-winner.

Dylan Strome scores the lone goal in the shootout and Washington takes it by a final score of 5-4! pic.twitter.com/ERq2Zu2X70

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 4, 2025

The Caps now have 86 points, the most in the Eastern Conference. Their 20 road wins are also tops in the East.

Rocky Mountain low

After losing two games at home over the weekend to Toronto and Boston, the Penguins head to Denver on Tuesday night to face the Avalanche on a down note.

Meanwhile, Colorado is trying to find some traction. They’ve won two in a row, beating Minnesota 5-2 and New Jersey 5-1. The Avs are currently the Western Conference’s top wild-card team with 72 points.

They are two back of the Wild for the Central Division’s last automatic qualifying slot. Colorado is seven points ahead of Calgary and Vancouver, which are tied for the final Western Conference wild card.

The Penguins blew a 4-0 lead in Denver on March 24 last year and ended up losing 5-4 in overtime. The Pens only missed tying for a playoff spot by three points.